Silent Sirens
by RefuseToSinkxox
Summary: Grace has always helped her friends, but what if it goes too far this time? What happens when Grace is the one who ends up in the hospital after another gang fight? Told from Zoe's point of view. Zoe x Grace.
1. Chapter 1

Everything was finally going my way for once since I came to Degrassi. I actually had friends, friends who actually wanted to talk to me, and I had Grace. We weren't officially a couple or anything, we only kissed once, but it was the second day of school and I planned to talk to her about it.

"Hey you" Tristan linked arms with me as we walked up the stairs into the already buzzing school. The hall was crowded, but it felt nice, it felt like a good day. "You're in a good mood, what's up?"

"I just feel really happy for a change" I smiled at Tristan, and we walked up to Maya, who didn't seem to have caught my cheerful mood. "What's wrong?"

She looked around the hall, before turning and whispering to us "I think something's wrong. I mean, with Tiny's guys. It was all supposed to be over, but Zig told me something might go down soon." she sighed, and I could make out the dark bags of skin underneath her eyes. I was worried of course, but I was thankful for once that I had nothing to do with the drama. The bell rang and I touched Maya's shoulder, trying to comfort her, which was something I sucked at.

"Everything's going to be okay, don't worry so much" I said, trying to be positive.

"Yeah says you, you don't have to worry about it. It's not like you have someone important involved in all this" She sighed again, and walked along side me to Chemistry.

"That's true, but I care about Zig, I don't want him to get hurt" I answered, even though I knew I couldn't really understand what she was going through.

"Yeah whatever" was her response, before we took our seats in the back. I couldn't think of something to say back, so I turned towards the front, where Mrs. Wither was talking about protons and chemical something-or-others.

* * *

"Well that was dreadful" Tristan announced as we exited the class. I nodded in agreement as Maya shot by us, quickly making her way toward the rubber room hallway. I wanted to follow her to see if she was okay, and also to see a certain blue haired hacker, but I decided against it and instead followed Tristan. He was going on and on about some guy, but I couldn't concentrate on that when I had to think about what I was going to say to Grace. We hadn't spoken since I kissed her on the beach, and even though she kept making eye contact and smiling at me yesterday, that wasn't a hundred percent guarantee she felt the same, so I had to prepare.

We had seven minutes left until the next class, which I had with her, so I decided on a perfect plan. I'd go in, sit next to her like I did yesterday, but this time closer. I'd talk to her, and then at the end of class I'll pull her back into the class and ask her what she thought of the kiss. God, I was so nervous. If she didn't feel the same, my heart would break, which is something I would never admit to anyone, but she understood me, and if she didn't reciprocate my feelings, I don't know what I'd do.

Tristan bought a bag of chips to share, but I couldn't stomach them, not when my belly was doing flips waiting for the bell to ring. I just wanted to see her, see her smile at me like I actually meant something to her. Tristan munched on the chips, still talking about more drama he heard from so and so, but my eyes were fixated on the clock. One more minute until English...

I finally heard the glorious bell chime, and I quickly said bye to Tristan, who scoffed and said a faint 'whatever'. I got to English and sat in the back, next to her chair, and impatiently watched the other students rushing in, waiting for the unforgettable blue hair to came strutting in. Everyone took their seat, except the one next to me. The teacher walked in, and closed the door, but the blue hair never walked in. He did attendance, called her name, but she didn't answer. Maybe she was sick, or didn't wake up on time, but now I had to think about another time to talk to her.

That's when we heard it. Two shots rang through the school, people freaked. Everyone ducked, got under the desks. The teacher locked the door and closed the windows, told everyone to stay calm, to stay under the desks and to not make a noise. I reached in my pocket for my phone, but of course it wasn't there, new policy forbid me to have it. Maya was right, something was going down today.

About five minutes later we heard the sirens, they came screeching into the school's parking lot, and within the next minute an officer was over the P.A., telling us it was safe to come out. The teacher got us into some sort of line, but as soon as the door opened people rushed to the front entrance, all pushing to get out of the school. Everyone gathered into groups outside on the lawn, quickly talking about what was happening. There was one ambulance, three police cars, and a fire truck for some reason, and a lot of officers and teachers around, talking and guiding students. I looked through the crowds for someone I knew, until I spotted Tristan. I walked up to him, and he hugged me and started fanning himself off.

"I was scared shitless! I for sure thought I was a gonner" He exclaimed, looking around at the other people around us.

"Maya was right, something did go down"

"Definitely. Did anyone get hurt? Someone told me that they seen the two paramedics rush in with a gurney, and the rubber room hallway is overflowing with cops."

"You don't think Maya or Zig got hurt do you?" I looked around but couldn't see any of them "She did rush there after chemistry this morning"

Then the front doors burst open, a paramedic carrying the front of the gurney and the other on the back. Maya was alongside it, black tears rushing down her face from her mascara, and my mind instantly went to Zig. But then he was right behind, along with Tiny and two cops, and my eyes slowly went to the soul occupant of the gurney. There was a lot of people in front of it, and the officers were pushing people out of the way, so I couldn't see. I ran towards the ambulance, and that's when I saw blue. I couldn't breath, I couldn't process, I denied it. I rushed through, pushing and shoving until I was right behind Zig. She was already in the ambulance, a paramedic pushing a bloody bandage on her stomach, and Maya sitting on the white bench, holding Grace's hand. The doors quickly closed and the sirens broke the silence of the still group. I could feel my head getting dizzy, and I knew someone was yelling in my ear, but I couldn't comprehend what was happening, I couldn't get her closed eyes or the blood stain on her tore clothing out of my head. Someone put their arm around me, but my world went instantly black.


	2. Chapter 2

Four hours. Well, to be exact; four hours, nine minutes and eleven seconds since they wheeled her gurney through the big brown doors marked ' _Emergency Personal Only_ ' in bold red letters. What an odd color to have in a hospital, red, as if they don't see enough red already.

I had woken up in Miles' car after I fainted, Zig had caught me and threw me in the passenger side. I woke up as we turned into the hospital parking lot, and made Miles stop right behind the ambulance so I could see her. She had an oxygen mask over her face, her eyes were still closed, Maya was still right by her side, and blood was still on the paramedics hands. We followed behind, until they went through the doors. Even Maya wasn't allowed through the doors. Maya turned around and walked over to me, her new yellow tank top covered in red - I then decided red was my least favorite color - and hugged me. It was odd, hugging Maya, but I needed it. I didn't even know I was crying until she released me from the hug and I could make out the mascara stains I had left on her shoulder.

Zig then called her parents, who were already on the way and told Zig that the school had called before him. I'd never met her parents, she didn't talk much about them, and I felt my stomach drop from the thought of how worried they must have been. Tiny was talking to the cops, and that's when my mind clicked, someone had shot her. Someone had shot Grace. My Grace.

"Who did this?" I asked through clamped teeth. I didn't want to make a scene, not when so many people were around, but I wanted to explode.

Zig walked over to me, reached out to touch my bicep, but I avoided his touch, it's his fault, that's the only reason she was there. She was always making sure Zig and stupid Tiny were safe. He looked down at the ground, he didn't even have the balls to look me in the eyes. "I'm so sorry Zoe. We didn't think it would go down at school like this." he cleared his throat and glanced over at Tiny "Damons boys were mad, they wanted to get back at Vince for what he did. Since Vince was arrested, they decided on the next best thing, me and Tiny. We... we didn't think you could even sneak a gun into school ya know, with all the security and stuff. We thought they just wanted a fight..." he stopped talking, like that explained why Grace was shot or something.

"Zig, for fuck sakes, what happened?" I was trying my best not to blow up, and I could feel the other people around me staring at the back of my head, but I needed answers.

He was shifting his weight back and forth, and took in a big breath of air before speaking again. "One of them came at me, so I pushed back, like anyone would. Then his others guys came up, and Tiny stood by me. The teacher wasn't there, it was only us, them, Maya and Grace. I pushed Maya behind us, so they wouldn't hurt her. I thought.. I thought Grace knew not to get involved, but she had been saying she wanted it all to end, she was always trying to help. He took a swing at me, but before I could punch back she pushed us apart. She told us to stop, not in school ya know. And then... then the gun was out and Maya screamed and I froze and.. He shot. Twice. I thought it went into me, I could see red and I figured it was me. But she dropped. She dropped and I'm so, so sorry Zoe" and that's when he broke into tears. Maya was still crying and took him by the hand, leading him over to the bench.

* * *

Now we stood around, four hours later, waiting for someone to tell us something. Her parents didn't seem to want to talk to us, they probably figured we had something to do with it judging by the tears and blood stains that covered all of us. Every nurse or doctor that passed was asked a series of questions, but no one had the answers. Zig and Tiny were interviewed, and two cops were still with us, one by the doors and the other standing alongside the bench. I was sitting by Maya, holding her hand, while my legs wouldn't stop shaking. Tiny kept pacing back and forth, which was freaking me out and I wanted to punch him so bad for irritating the hell out of me, but I felt like my whole body had no energy left. I couldn't eat, even though Zig had already scarfed down three club sandwiches and two bags of chips from the vending machines. We all just stayed there, no one talked unless a doctor walked by, or a noise was heard from the hallway. We just waited.

Five hours, twenty minutes and three seconds, a doctor came out. He immediately asked who the parents were and went to them, but we all gathered to hear the news.

"Your daughter has had severe damage done to her body. One bullet left a hole in her stomach and the other went to the liver. The bullet in her stomach went all the way through, which was good and we were able to fix that. The other bullet, however, hit her liver and shattered, which is why it's been taking so long in surgery." He paused, letting us take all of the information in. "We have cleared up the stomach and are now still attempting to fix the damage done, specifically to her liver. Grace lost a lot of blood, but we are trying very hard to save her." He held onto Grace's mother's arm to steady her, but I didn't understand why it was taking so fucking long to fix her.

Her father finally spoke up after a few moments "so, is she still in surgery? I mean, will she make it?"

The doctor looked around at all our tear stricken faces and seemed to be contemplating what to say next. "We have the best doctors helping your daughter, and we will do everything we possibly can to make sure she pulls through this" and with that, he turned around and walked back through the doors. That's when her mother lost it. She dropped to the floor and cried so hard, but her dad eventually picked her back up and helped her over to a seat nearby. I wanted to scream, I wanted to walk through those big stupid ass brown doors and see what the hell was taking so long. I wanted to see her face and hold her hand and see her smile and hear her laugh and...

"Zoe, sit down. You look sick" Tiny said, but I didn't care. I couldn't just sit and wait, I needed to keep myself occupied, so I took Tiny's role and decided pacing was my best option. I just needed her to tell me everything was going to be okay.


	3. Chapter 3

We were all gathered around a door which lead into her room, but the doctor wouldn't let us in. Seven hours we waited, but still couldn't see her. Her parents slipped in, but we were told to wait, but for how long we didn't know.

"Only her parents can go in, Grace isn't even awake yet and there are other patients in the room. Too many people will bother the others, so for now, just her parents." The doctor said, and went into the room, leaving four of us impatiently waiting in the hall. I just wanted to see her, but mostly I wanted her to wake up.

When the surgery had been finished, the doctor had told us it was all up to Grace now. That they did all they could, repaired what they could, and it was up to her to pull through and live. He said tonight would be the hardest, that if she could make it through the night she might have a chance. I wanted to punch him, I wanted to yell at him for not waking her up. I knew, in the back of my mind, that he couldn't work miracles, but I just thought of her and of the two bullets that went into the most amazing person I've ever known and that she might never wake up. She's so tough, but she might never wake up.

I didn't even get to talk to her today, I didn't get to hear her sarcasm or see her laughing eyes while she made fun of me. It was the best part of my day and it didn't happen because of some stupid turf war that she wasn't even involved in. I couldn't bare to look at Zig or Tiny anymore, every time I did it made me wish it was them lying in a hospital bed and not Grace. I know that's a horrible thought, but it's the truth, besides, it's their fault she even got hurt.

Then the door creaked open and the doctor came out. "Her parents want some alone time, and visiting hours were over a half hour ago, so no one else will be aloud in her room tonight. You should all go home and get yourselves cleaned up, eat, sleep and you can come back in the morning at 9." And with that, he turned and walked down the hall.

"He's right, we gotta get going." Tiny said to Zig, who nodded in agreement. Maya got off the floor, and I looked at the blood stains still covering her shirt, they were dried in but you could still make them out, even in the dim lighting of the hospital. She lost so much blood...

"Zoe, do you need a ride home?" I peeled my eyes away from her shirt and looked up at her face, but shook my head.

"No, that's okay. I'll stick around for a bit I think" I said, taking a seat on a brown cushioned chair, the only chair next to her room.

"You won't be able to see her until tomorrow Zo, you should go home and get some sleep. Tell your mom where you are and take a shower or something" Zig said, his arm wrapped around Maya's waist.

I shook my head again, and curled up onto the chair. "Maybe later, I just want to stick around for a little longer." They nodded and gathered their things. Maya said goodnight as the three of them headed towards the elevator to leave. I couldn't go home, all I'd be thinking about was her trying to make it through the night. I hugged my knees up onto the seat and stared at her door.

* * *

I woke up to someone shaking my arm. I opened my eyes to see Grace's dad, and figured out who Grace got her big brown eyes from.

"Were you here all night?" he asked in a hushed voice, like it was some grand secret that I slept on a chair in the hall. I nodded and he backed away to stand up, pressing his hands to his lower back and made a big cracking sound. I did not look forward to getting old. "She still hasn't woken up" he said, looking down at the grey tiled flooring.

I stretched out my limbs and looked around, but no one else was in the hall besides the two of us. "What time is it?" I asked him, finally realizing my phone was still at school.

"It's about 5:30 in the morning" he said, "I was just heading down to the cafeteria for some coffee and maybe something to eat. Did you want anything?" he asked. He looked like her, same dopey smile and dark skin, it made me sad looking at him.

"Coffee would be great thanks" I said and he nodded before turning and walking to the elevator. I stood up to stretch some more, my legs aching from the awkward position I had fallen asleep in. I looked at her door, and so badly wanted to turn the knob and go in to see her, but I didn't want to get kicked out of the hospital and ruin my chances of seeing her when she was actually awake. So instead, I decided walking up and down the hallway was my only option.

The elevator opened up about five minutes later and her dad walked out, holding two cups of coffee, a can of orange juice and two stale bagels. He handed me the coffee with a pack of milk and sugar. " I wasn't sure if you had anything in it" he said with a smirk.

"That's perfect, thanks" I said, taking the coffee and pouring in one sugar pack. I leaned against the wall and took a sip. It didn't taste the best, but it still felt great going down my throat. Her dad still stood in front of me, taking a sip of his coffee as well.

"So, I didn't catch your name" he said, trying to start up a conversation.

"Oh, I'm Zoe" I said, smiling at him.

He took my hand and gave it a big shake, "pleasure to meet you, I'm Dave, Grace's dad". He let go of my hand and took another sip from his cup before speaking again "so, how do you know Grace?"

"I knew her from school, but we got closer over the summer from being lab partners in science class."

His eyebrows went up in realization "Ohhh, you're the lab partner. Grace told us about her friend she met over the summer, she might have mentioned your name but I don't have the best memory" he gave a little chuckle, and I blushed from the thought of Grace actually talking about me to her parents. "Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, but I have to get back to my wife, she's starving." he smiled and went into the room, leaving me in the hall again. I was kind of upset he didn't invite me in, but I understood the rules.

I decided then to call my mother. It was early, so hopefully she wouldn't be awake and I could leave her a message. I went to the end of the hall toward the pay phone and slipped a quarter into the slot and dialed home. Thankfully there was no answer, so I left a message after the beep "Hi mom, it's me. I know it's early, but I'm still at the hospital waiting for my friend. I might come home later to change. Okay, bye." and I hung up. I walked back to my seat and sat down, putting my head between my knees and impatiently waited to see her.

About an hour or so later, the hospital seemed to have come alive a little more. The doctors and nurses must come on around 6:30, because the elevator was going up and down nonstop and I could hear a 'good morning' every couple of minutes. The smell of coffee filled the air, and I was tempted to try and find the cafeteria for another cup, but I didn't want to leave. Then her door creaked open again, and Dave inched his way out.

"Hi again Zoe." I smiled up at him as he closed the door. "I'm heading home to get some things for my wife and I, and Mindy doesn't want to sit in there alone. Did you want to go in?" I smiled even bigger and nodded, jumping out of the seat.

"Thank you" I said and he moved out of my way and headed toward the elevator. I slowly opened the door and snuck inside, trying to make as least noise as possible. I looked around the room, which had four separate spaces for a patient in each corner. Two had the curtains pulled over so I couldn't see in, one was an older lady who was fast asleep, and the one in the far right corner I made out as Grace's. I could see her mom sitting in the chair, holding onto her daughter's hand. The curtain was pulled out a little, so I couldn't see Grace from where I stood. I slowly walked the length of the room, and noticed Mindy watching me, but my eyes were glued to Grace. I finally walked close enough to see all of her.

She looked so fragile, so small in the big hospital bed. Her eyes were closed, and her blue hair was sprawled out over the pillow. I took the seat next to her mom, who turned a little towards me. "So, you must be Zoe" she whispered, trying her hardest to fake a smile for me. I nodded, looking back at the tubes coming and going from Grace. A mask was still over her face, but she was breathing, she made it through the night.

"It's nice to meet you ma'am" I answered quietly, taking my eyes off of Grace for a moment to look at the woman next to me. Grace didn't look like her as much, she had small pink lips, green eyes and lighter skin then Grace and her dad.

"Dave told me you were here all night" I nodded again, but my mind was thinking of how uncomfortable that bed looked, Grace probably hated it. "You know you didn't have to do that" she said

"Oh I know, I wanted to stay" I answered, wanting so badly to reach my hand out to hold Grace's.

"Well, I'm glad Grace has friends like you" she exclaimed, and that was the end of our conversation. I didn't want to talk to her, I wanted to talk to Grace. I was tired, and I couldn't come up with small talk right now, so we sat in silence for what felt like forever.

* * *

After some time, Dave came back into the room. He had a bag in his hand, and had changed his clothes. He must have also showered because his hair looked nicer. I stood up to go, but he protested. "You don't have to get up and sit back out there. I'll ask a nurse for another chair." I sat back down as he laid the bag down next to the bed and exited the room again. Mindy stood up, and walked to the bag, taking out a change of clothes and a tooth brush and went into the bathroom.

I looked back at Grace, and took her now free hand that had once been in her mother's. I expected it to squeeze back, but of course it didn't. "Hi Grace" I whispered, looking around the room for anyone who would stare at me. No one was awake yet, so I continued. "Could you do me a favor and wake up now? It's kind of awkward with your parents and I don't want to leave, so if you could wake up now, that'd be great". I looked at her face for an eye roll, but there was still no movement. I laid my head down on the bed, and wept, no tears came and I figured it was from all the crying I did yesterday.

"You're an ugly crier.." I heard a familiar voice say softly, and I quickly lifted my head to see brown eyes looking at me. I smiled and jumped up, hugging her as tight as I could. "Oww" she grumbled, and I let go to look at her. She let go of my hand to remove the mask covering her face.

"Grace, you scared the shit out of me" I told her, and I could feel the tears running down my face, guess I wasn't all out of those after all.

"Sorry about that" she mumbled, trying to sit up but wincing at the sudden pain.

I pushed her back down "don't do that" I demanded "you'll hurt yourself and you only just woke up"

She rolled her eyes "bossing me around already. I just woke up Rivas" she smirked at me, taking my hand again in hers.

That's when the bathroom door opened and Mindy came out. She didn't notice that Grace was awake until she was at the foot of the bed, then I was pushed out of the way so she could kiss her daughter's forehead. I backed off and went to the door to find Dave. I walked out into the hall to find him walking back with a chair for me. "Dave, she's awake!" I told him, and he dropped the chair and ran inside. I smiled and decided it would be weird for me to go back in, I'd ruin their happy family moment. So, instead, I moved the chair Dave had left in the middle of the hall to the side and once again took my seat in the brown chair. I was so happy I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face. I knew this didn't mean she was alright, but she had made it through the night, she was awake and talking. She was back.

A moment later, the door opened again and Dave smiled out at me. "Grace wants you to come back in" he said, grabbing the extra chair and walking back into the room. I followed behind him back into the room to see the girl I loved.


	4. Chapter 4

"You have to go home Rivas. Don't worry, I'll still be here when you come back" Grace said, looking up at me from where she lid in her bed. According to her doctor, she was still in pretty bad shape and wasn't aloud to move due to the surgeries. It was now almost 7:00 at night, and I hadn't left the hospital yet. I didn't want to leave, I couldn't think of a reason to go.

"Why, you don't enjoy my company?" I teased, looking down at her. She was awake, and that was amazing, but she wasn't completely herself, I could tell by the look of her. She was pale and her lips were cracked, and she constantly said she was cold. She wasn't aloud to eat, they fed her through machines, and most of the time she lost her breath and needed to put the oxygen mask on. It scared me, seeing her so helpless, and I think it scared her too.

She smirked before replying "It's not that, you just kinda stink" and Maya nodded in agreement.

"When we leave at nine we'll drive you home okay? Besides, school reopens tomorrow" Zig said from behind Maya. It was the four of us again, me, Maya, Zig and Tiny, all stood or sat around her bed. Her parents had left around 6:00 and planned to come back around 9:00 when we left.

I sighed "I don't think I'll go to school, besides, I probably won't miss anything important" I stated, and Tiny nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it'll probably be all about shootings and therapy and talking about our feelings and stuff" Tiny said, but he quickly realized he was in front of Grace and shot her an apologetic look.

She smiled at him "it's okay, you can mention it around me" she said, but I could see it in her eyes it was still a touchy subject. Tiny didn't seem to notice her lie and smiled back at her.

Maya changed the subject and started telling Grace about her new gig opportunity, but I blocked her out and decided to watch Grace instead. She was listening intently to whatever Maya was going on about, she was such a great friend to Maya. You'd never think they'd be such great friends, well then again you'd never think I would fall for someone like Grace, let alone another girl.

There was three monitors hooked up to Grace, one for her heartbeat and vital signs, one to alert a nurse if something bad were to happen to her, and another one that measures something else that I didn't know about. She also had tubes around her, one for her oxygen mask whenever she needed it, another for her urine since she was bed ridden, and the other, a feeding tube, went under the blankets into her stomach. She could move her arms and hands and stuff, but the doctors told her parents they were worried about her legs. One of the bullets had grazed her spine or something, and even though she could feel when the doctor stabbed her foot, they weren't sure if she could walk. They didn't tell Grace that though, they didn't want her to loose hope according to her parents, but I felt bad keeping it from her.

* * *

Nine o'clock came and Maya, Zig and Tiny said their goodbyes. I decided it was finally time for me to go home, considering I'd been there a day and a half, so I asked them to wait for me outside her room. I sat down next to her and took her hand, "You can call me, if you want, like during the night or whenever."

She smiled and squeezed my hand "I think I can handle it. Besides, my parents will be here for another while longer"

I nodded "Yeah, I know. It's just, I know this is hard and you might act tough, but this is scary. Even if you don't need to talk, could you call me anyway? Just so I know you're okay?"

She shook her head in agreement and I stood up to go. "Come here" she said quietly, and I bent down to her. She pulled me into a hug and then kissed me on the cheek "thank you Zoe." she whispered.

"Anytime. Goodnight Grace" I said and stood back up, letting go of her hand and walking out of the room to leave. We passed her parents on the way out and Dave looked at me and said "Goodnight Zoe, see you tomorrow" with a smirk, and I had a feeling he knew more than he was letting on.

The car ride home was relatively quiet, except for Maya who sang every word to every song on the radio the whole way home. I thanked Ms. Matlin for the ride home and walked up my driveway and into my house. All the lights were off, which meant my mother wasn't even home. I was gone since yesterday morning and she didn't even care, typical. I went straight to the shower, where I took my time to scrub away the past two days, like it would fix my problems. After that, I changed into my pajamas and threw away the clothes I had been wearing, too many bad memories, and went to bed. I turned my ringer on my phone as high as it could go, thankful Maya had retrieved it from school this morning before she came to the hospital, and laid it beside my head on the pillow incase Grace called.

It went off and lit up my whole room, waking me up after the second ring. The screen read 1:36 am, and I quickly swipped to answer. "Hello" I said quietly, still trying to wake up.

"Hey, did I wake you?" she whispered into the phone. Hearing her voice woke me up more, and I sat up in bed to hold the phone to my ear.

"Yes, but it's okay." I said, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Sorry. I couldn't sleep" she said, and I could picture her now. She was probably under the covers, trying to make sure she didn't wake up the other patients who shared the room with her. We had gotten in trouble for being too loud, so she was probably worried they'd take away her phone if another one of the old ladies complained. "My parents left a while ago.. It's just so quiet here."

"It's fine, we can talk for as long as you want" I said, smiling into the phone.

"Okay thanks." she sounded so alone, it made me want to run over to the hospital right now and sit with her, but I knew I couldn't, they wouldn't let me in anyway. "Zoe?"

"Yeah?"

"You were right, this is scary." she whispered through the phone "I don't want to die, not like this"

I shook my head, like she could actually see me "You're not gonna die Grace, you're too strong. You made it through the surgery and through you're first night, the rest of it is gonna be a breeze"

She sniffed on the other end of the phone, and I knew she was crying. "I know, but I think the doctors think there's something wrong with me. They keep asking my parents to come outside and stuff, and I'm really scared that I'm dying and that no one has the nerve to say it to my face." she paused to sniff again " Is that why you were here for so long? Cause I'm gonna die and you knew?"

"God no! Grace, you're not gonna die. You're doing great, the doctors are only telling your parents stuff that you wouldn't understand that's all"

She took a second to think and then whispered "then why were you here for so long?"

"Because I was worried about you, and I like you. I wanted to make sure you were okay" I said honestly.

"Okay" she said. It was quiet for a moment, until she spoke again "Zoe?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you stay on the phone with me until I fall asleep?"

"Of course." I said and lid back down, the phone pressed between the pillow and my ear. I don't know which one of us fell asleep first, but when I woke up that morning I was still on the phone with her.


	5. Chapter 5

"Zoe Rivas, I swear to god" Grace said as she tried covering the lens of my camera again, "We're not taking a picture. I look like complete crap"

I shook my head in disagreement "You could never look like crap" I said. "I just want a picture of you, that's all."

She grabbed my hand and pulled the camera out of it "no, no way. Not when I'm in a hospital dress with week old greasy hair." she hid the camera behind her back and I folded my arms and pouted.

"You never let me have fun" I stated, but she just rolled her eyes and laughed at me.

It's been a week since the shooting, and Grace was getting better. She was still bed ridden, but she could eat some solid foods now and the doctors weren't too worried about her motor functions, which was great news. She looked better, and hadn't mentioned her worries about dying since that night on the phone, which I also took as a good sign. They weren't sure how long she would have to stay in the hospital, but her dad had decided to go back to work today, which Grace was happy about, but her mom said she'd be too worried if she was at work.

I still hadn't talked to her about the kiss on the beach, even though I'd been here everyday after school until 9. I just couldn't think about how to bring it up, besides it probably isn't something on the top of Grace's worries at the moment, so I decided I'd wait for a while, or until she mentioned it.

"You should do me a huge favor" she said, smirking at me from behind her computer screen.

"What?" I asked

"I'm really craving McDonald's, and the nurse told me that I could start eating that today if I wanted to." she wiggled her eyebrows, hoping that would make me get up and go.

I sighed "Grace, you're in a hospital, I don't think they'd be okay with you eating take-out food" I said, "besides, I don't want to walk all the way down the street, you aren't that important" I smirked at her, but she just glared back.

"Yeah, says the one who's been sitting by my hospital bed since I came here" she rebutted, and I couldn't deny that.

"Well that's only because everyone else at school is so boring"

Her smiled widened at that, and she sat up a little more, closing her laptop. "Are you saying I'm important Zoe?"

I sighed again "fine, you win. I'll get you McDonald's." I said, standing up and putting my coat on.

"Thank you! You're the best"

"Oh I know." I said, "What do you want?"

"Ouu, a double cheese burger, extra pickles, with a large fries and a large coke" she smiled and licked her lips.

I shook my head "yeah no soda. I'll get you water." she sighed but agreed, and I left the room and headed to the elevator to make my walk to McDonald's.

* * *

I headed back into the hospital with one of the unhealthiest foods known to man, and boy did I get looks. I had two bags, and two drinks, and was very proud that I didn't drop anything on my way back to her room. I walked in, a smile plastered on my face for when she saw her McDonald's, but I turned the corner into her room and saw a doctor and nurses all crowded around her bed, shouting things at each other. I dropped the bags on a table, and rushed over to see what was happening.

Grace was lid down, and blood was coming from the corners of her mouth. The blankets were pushed off her, and her gown was open, revealing her swollen stomach. The doctor was pushing in on it, and I frantically looked for answers.

"What's happening? What's wrong with her?" I asked, still looking down at her. Her eyes were open, and one of her hands was bawled into a fist, holding onto the sheet underneath her so hard her knuckles were white.

"Get her out of here" the doctor demanded, asking for another tool from the nurse across from him. The lady next to me took my arm and turned me away, trying to get me to walk toward the door.

"What's wrong with her? Is she okay?" I asked, but she kept guiding me out. "Please tell me" I pleaded.

Once we were outside the room she finally spoke "Grace's liver doesn't seem to be holding up, and from what we can tell, she might need another surgery, or possibly a liver transplant."

"Oh my god" I ran my fingers through my hair and I could feel the tears building up behind my eyes. "She was fine ten minutes ago, I went to get McDonald's and now..."

The nurse nodded in understanding, and touched my arm for comfort. "Would you be able to call her parents? We're going to need them here as soon as possible" I nodded and she thanked me, before going back into the room.

I held back the tears and took out my phone, luckily Mindy had given me her number the other day in case of emergencies. I dialed it, and waited impatiently for her to answer.

"Hello" she said

"Hi Mrs. Cardinal, it's Zoe. Something's wrong with Grace, the doctor is working with nurses to see what the problem is, I think they told me something about her liver and another surgery. They want you to come as soon as possible" I said quickly, pacing in front of her room.

"Oh my god. I'm on my way" and with that she hung up. I tried calling Maya to tell her that something was wrong with Grace again, but she didn't answer. I sat back down in the brown chair and looked into the room.

About two minutes later they all came rushing out with Grace, still lid on her bed, in the middle of them. I stood up quickly and looked at the nurse "where are you going?" I asked as they rushed down the hall.

"Surgery, we can't wait for her parents to get here." she said quickly as the doctor shouted something else. "Stay there" she commanded me as they went into the elevator. I sighed and couldn't stop the tears from falling this time.

* * *

"Where is she?" Mindy said as she ran down the hall from the elevator toward where I sat in front of the room. Dave was right behind her, a look of panic on both their faces.

"They took her into surgery about ten minutes ago, they couldn't wait for you to get here." I told them.

"Did they say anything else?" Dave asked

"Just that it's her liver, I think she might need a transplant according to the nurse" I informed them, but Mindy looked so scared. She walked away from me and headed to the front desk, where she asked the secretary a bunch of questions, but the woman had no answers, she told her that she had to wait for the doctor to come out.

It felt like we were back to square one, waiting to see if she would make it out alive. The doctor lied, he said if she could make it through the first night she'd be better, but it's been a week, and now she was back in surgery. I still didn't have the guts to tell her how I feel, to talk about the kiss or how much she meant to me. If, no when, she comes out of this, I'm going to tell her, I can't hold it back any longer.


End file.
